Is eight hours sleep too much?

How to determine how much sleep you need

Even though medical experts have advocated for eight hours of sleep a night for many years, successful people such as internationally known developer and financier Donald Trump says he does well on three or four hours, and Oakland Community College Chancellor Tim Meyer, gets four to five hours sleep and says its plenty.

Now a new study featured on NBC’s “Today” show this week, based on a Wall Street Journal article, indicated eight hours of sleep may be too much and 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 hours may be the ideal amount for a person’s health. The Wall Street Journal cited a study done by Daniel F. Kripke, an emeritus professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego, who tracked data on 1.1 million people taking part in a larger cancer study over a six-year period. The people who reported they slept 6.5 to 7.4 hours had a lower mortality rate than those with shorter or longer sleep, according to the Journal story.

Trock, who is director of neurophysiology at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, and professor at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, is concerned that people who are doing well on eight or nine hours sleep might be frightened now that they are sleeping ton long and cut back to seven hours thinking they will be healthier.

The real indicator that you are getting enough sleep is that you wake up refreshed and function well during the day, said Trock who isn’t advocating for any particular number of hours for all. There are some people known as “short sleepers”,” who sleep fewer hours and are creative, contribution and well-adjusted people, he said.

“They wake up refreshed and are healthy,” Trock said. He cited a former partner who, like Trump and Meyer, “who did well on four to five hours of sleep.”

Personally, Trock said, “I need 7 1/2 hours. I get six during the week because I get up early and exercise, and 7 1/2 on the weekends. I feel great,” he said.

Trock noted there are people with medical problems, including sleep apnea who can sleep eight to 10 hours and still feel tired when they wake up. This can happen because they do not experience the last two of four stages of sleep that includes A3 and REM sleep, which are the restorative levels of sleep.

Dr. M. Safwan Badr, M.D. chief of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine and president of American Academy of Sleep Medicine, said even though the study got a lot of attention, “I cannot tell you, based on the study, how much sleep you need as an individual.” However, with the exception of those rare “short sleepers,” it would be somewhere between 7 and 9 hours, said Badr, who is also a staff physician at the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center and the Detroit Medical Center.

“My concern is 30 percent of American adults get only six hours of sleep. They are not short sleepers. They are putting themselves at risk. They think they are doing okay but they are not,” he said, noting this can affect their performance on the job and driving among other daily functions.

The national sleep expert suggests people determine their own ideal hours of sleep by allowing themselves to wake up on their own without an alarm clock for two or three days. Then count back and see how many hours satisfied your sleep need.

At OCC, Meyer, who oversees the five-campus, 28,000-student community college, said he can function without too many Zs.

“I get four to five hours a night on average during the week and try to catch up on rest most weekends,” Meyer said. That’s because it is not uncommon for Meyer to spend 10-12 hours a day at the office, plus the board meeting for OCC and other associations and community organizations he serves on. Following that, Meyer spends time at home with his family that includes two teenage sons and a college student who still lives at home. And he also fits in one of his favorite pastimes – reading. So, there is not much sleep to be had, he noted.

According to The Daily News, Trump credits his success to sleeping only three to four hours each night to stay a step ahead of his competition.

Mike Bernacchi, of Royal Oak, a marketing professor at University of Detroit Mercy, said four to five hours isn’t enough for him or college students or anyone.

“I usually try to get six or seven hours. I am up by 6 a.m. and working out every morning and I’m ready to go,” Bernacchi said.

However, “There is a segment of students, no matter what you do, that either they are not sleeping enough or they are committed to class as sleep time. I don’t bring monkeys, but I bring a good act,” working to keep students engaged, said Bernacchi.

“It is dangerous to turn off the light” to do something such as a power point presentation, he said. “They pay good money for this education and they least they can do is stay awake to receive it,” he said.

“Maybe getting a good night’s sleep is not part of our culture today,” he said, pointing to the fact that so many people today pride themselves on having their cell phones and other devices with them always and being available to respond no matter what time it is.

“Gong to bed at 2 a.m. and getting up at 6 a.m. is not going to work for anyone,” he said.